The Crossroads of Destiny
by weasley-twins-41
Summary: Zuko's POV of his inprisonment with Katara in the crystal catacombs. What would've happened if Aang and Iroh hadn't barged in SO conveniently at that exact moment and if Katara had... well, you'll find out. Threeshot. Zuko/Katara
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I'm gonna write a few oneshots before I start updating on The Tales of Zuko. Oneshots are beast- next to reviews. Which reminds me—PLEASE REVIEW! Zuko's POV. THIS IS WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF AANG AND IROH HAD BARGED IN FIVE MINUTES LATER! WHOOOOOOO I'M EXCITED TO DO THIS ONE!**

The Dai Li agents grip my upper arms in an iron hold, directing me to an unknown place. I do not attempt to struggle. Suddenly we stop and one of them releases me. He thrusts his arms downward and a spinning section of the earth disappears far below the surface. He comes and takes hold of me again. They drag me closer and I can see a small cavern with many emerald crystals looming far below. Amongst the crystals is a small figure. I cannot tell whoit is yet.

The agents surprise me by taking me to the edge, and pushing me forward into the pit. I roll haphazardly down the slope, the sharp rocks gouging slightly into my skin, groans and sharp hisses of breath escaping my mouth. When I finally hit rock-bottom (no pun intended), the person inside the cave is revealed.

"Zuko!" she gasps, shocked.

It is Katara, the young female Waterbender who I fought at the North Pole.

I sit with my back facing her. Staring at the emerald crystals, the light shatters off of them in a million tiny facets. I can tell by the energy of the room that she is about to rant and rave.

"Why did they throw you in here?" she demands accusingly. "Oh, wait, let me guess- it's a trap. So when Aang shows up to rescue me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches."

I steal a glance at her, and I see her hands have formed into claws. Hoping she does not decide to rip me apart, waterbending or not, I turn away silently.

"You're a terrible person, you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood."

Sudden anger flares up inside me, and I can't keep my tongue held. I snarl, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I _don't_?" she screams. "How dare you! You have _no _idea what this war has put me through- me personally." Her voice splits evenly in half, and I can tell she is crying. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me." She begins to sob.

Without warning, an image of _my _mother pops up in my head. Yet again, memories flood my mind of when she left. I can see her pulling up her hood, disappearing into the darkness, with only a few words of vague explanation and a last embrace. To my horror, a lump fills my throat.

I twist my body around almost all the way, and with some difficulty, I reply, "I'm sorry. That's something we have in common."

She raises her head from her crouched position and turns to look at me, surprised. She proceeds to stand, and so do I, facing her with three-quarters of my body.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before," she apologizes softly.

"It doesn't matter," I counter.

"It's just that, for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face."

Shock hits me, and I immediately realize she could be referring to the large, evil looking burn spreading across the left side of my face. I turn away from her, placing a hand on my scar, and muttering, "My face. I see."

She realizes her mistake, and quickly replies, "No no, that's not what I meant."

I do not mind that she thought of me when she saw the face of the enemy. "It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me, the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark."

We are silent for a moment, and she seems to be thinking. "Maybe you _could _be free of it."

Shock floods me again, and is quickly replaced by hope. Could I be free of the mark that stages my banishment? Could my face once again be normal? Could I stop getting horrified glances from random passerby obviously wondering what could have caused such a thing?

Could I be free of the mark that shows my father's hatred?

"What?" A somewhat strangled yelp expels from my throat. Turning back to the Waterbender, I am still thoroughly surprised.

"I have healing abilities," Katara declares proudly.

All thoughts of hope plummet down as I think of the face that this kind of injury cannot be mended. "It's a scar. It can't be healed," I retort gently.

She carries on, pulling a small blue vial topped with a Water Tribe moon out from under her shirt. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important." She walks towards me, holding the vial up. "I don't know if it would work, but…"

I stare at her, refusing to let the desire break through on my face. What if this is all just a trick? What if she will just laugh at my ache to me uninjured? I ponder about this for a split second. She sounded so _sincere! _I decide to let my guard down, for the unyielding desire to be free of my evil mark overpowers me.

Closing my eyes, I silently accept her offer. Feeling her cool hand on my scar, I remember how I never _ever_ let _anyone_ touch my scar- _very_ rarely the healers, not that Earth Kingdom girl, not even Uncle. Feeling her foreign touch, I almost jerk away instinctively, but I resist it. Her fingers flutter gently against my face, examining the extent of the damage.

After a few seconds, she removes her hand from my face. I hear her uncork the stopper from the vial, my eyes remaining shut. The whir of the water sounds in my ears as she holds it ever so carefully above her hand. She brings her hand to my face and lays it, along with the healing water, onto my scar once more. A cold sensation spreads across the left side of my face, making me inhale sharply. Even though my eyes are closed, I can see a celestial blue light fill the cavern, drowning out the green glints of the crystal.

The light subsides, and the waterbender inhales slowly. She brings her hand away from my face. I keep my eyes closed. Lifting a hand to my face, I press my fingers against it gently. I expect to feel the raw roughness of my scar, but my fingers only meet the finest porcelain texture of skin. Slightly startled, my fingers flutter over my face again, and I still only feel the smooth, silky fineness of the rest of my skin.

My eyes flash open, and I immediately see the waterbender looking at me in wonder and elation. Tears are streaming out of her eyes, as she contemplates the fact that she is perhaps the best healer in the world. Or, at least, that's my opinion. I can see more out of my left eye than I ever have before.

"You did it!" I cry, and without thinking, I snatch her up and crush her to me, swinging her round and round in jubilance. I set her down and discover she has no protest to my sudden outburst of emotion. Tears sting both of my eyes at last, and I can't resist hugging her again.

_'Finally, finally,'_ I chorus repeatedly, over and over again in my head.

Finally, after three long years, I am free of my scar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! You liked chapter 1 a lot, so I've decided to do chapter 2! WARNING-Slight Kataang bashing! It's Zuko's POV again. Sorry it took me so long to update!**

Katara was locked in my embrace. I owed her everything. She had healed my mark of shame, and for that, I am forever in her debt.

Our warm and happy moment is shattered when there is a small explosion, and a rock wall blasts outward, sending bits of green crystal everywhere. When the dust clears, I see with a hollow _pang _that it is my uncle and the Avatar. The former looked at us with a shocked but admiring look, but the latter stared at Katara and me with a look of pure rage and deep disappointment. My cheeks blaze red and I carefully extract myself from Katara.

"What are you doing with her?" the Avatar roars. His mouth remains agape in shock as he notices my scar… or where it used to be.

"I- I just-"

Before I can finish my sentence, the Avatar's eyes flash briefly white, and the next thing I know, I am hurtling backwards towards the emerald embedded wall. I slam against it and the points of the stones pierce and dig painfully into my back. I let out a cry of pain, and two cries of shock echo me. Guess who they were?

"Aang!" Katara cries, after her cry of shock. "Why did you do that? He was just hugging me because _I healed his scar!_"

"YOU _WHAT_!" Aang roars, his voice vaguely mingled with the previous Avatars' voices. "Katara, _how could you_? After all he did to us? Why would you do that?"

"Aang, I felt sorry for him, and I just wanted to _help_!"

"How could you feel sorry for _him_?"

My head swiveled back and forth between the two arguers. By Katara's expression and voice, I can tell they have never fought or argued anytime before this. Slightly stung by various words said by Aang, I struggle to get up and add to the growing argument, but pain sears across my back and I collapse back onto the ground.

Uncle seems to notice my struggle, because he plods over and tries to help me up. Once I get to my feet, pain sears once again across my back, and I groan in discomfort. Seeing my stand up straight must have put Aang over the edge. His eyes and tattoos glow a burning white, and a sphere of air collects around him. He begins to rise into the air, and I know I am in deep trouble for merely hugging the Avatar's supposed 'girl'. He summons a huge boulder-like chunk of rock, and I cringe, expecting it to come for me.

It does come for me.

I close my eyes and ready myself for excruciating pain, or even death.

But it never strikes me.

I look up in confusion. Katara stands erect in front of me, the boulder inches from her nose, a wave of water summoned from the underground river held at the ready by her side. She waves her arm suddenly, and the water flicks away the boulder as if it were a pesky spider-fly.

"Katara-"I stutter, but she is occupied at the moment. Aang, still out of control, and still in the Avatar state, is directing more boulders and waves of water towards her. She deflects them easily. I do not think I should try and help her… one, because my back is killing me, and two, this her fight.

I watch helplessly as boulder after boulder and wave after wave is sent hurtling towards the girl who healed me. She dodges the attacks deftly and easily, as if she knows his moves in advance. Her braid flies as she ducks and weaves her way closer and closer to Aang.

Then, everything stopped.

I watch in horror as a boulder hits Katara squarely in the chest.

She hurtles backwards into me and we crash into another section of wall, this time, smooth and not invaded with crystal. Pain bursts into excruciating agony and my back is slammed against the wall once more. Tears spring pathetically to my eyes and I fight back a yell.

Looking to the Avatar, I see that a look of shock has dominated his face, and that he is no longer glowing. Tears cascade out of the kid's eyes as he stares at Katara sprawled awkwardly in my lap. Katara groans and begins to cry, presumably not just from pain.

"KATARA!" Aang yells, and I am surprised at how much heartbreak and agony is in his voice. He must really love the girl sobbing into my shoulder. He dashes over to us and jerks the beautiful waterbender off me… wait, did I just say Katara was beautiful? My thoughts have strayed again.

Aang leans over the rapidly-losing-consciousness waterbender, and he grips her hands. Tears slip out of his eyes and I realize this is a very private moment, and that I should be somewhere else. I look away, but I can still hear the shuddering sobs coming from the both of them.

"Katara, I am so, so sorry," Aang whispers, his voice choked. "Why did I attack you?"

Now Aang is the only one weeping, for Katara has slipped over the edge. She has fallen unconscious. Suddenly Aang whirls around and screams at me, "_This is all your fault!_"

"What? How is it _my _fault?" I reply angrily.

"If you hadn't been hugging her and clinging to her like a maniac, I wouldn't have lost control and attacked her!"

I snarl furiously and lunge for the kid, but Uncle's restraining hand on my shoulder prevents me from doing so. I hadn't even noticed Uncle was still here. He jerked me to my feet, and I made a move to pick up Katara and tell Aang I was taking her to a hospital, but both Uncle and Aang turned my thoughts the other way. Uncle shook his head warningly at me, and Aang's distraught and enraged expression was enough.

"Zuko, you need to make a choice, and quickly. Azula will be here any moment, and you do not want to cross paths with her."

I listen to Uncle's words. I figure now I have a small chance of joining the Avatar, and I am still not sure if I should betray Uncle and join Azula.

If I joined Azula, my father would restore my honor and I would be welcomed back with open arms.

If I stayed here with Uncle, I would have a new chance at life and get another chance at finding my mother, if she was still alive.

If I joined the Avatar and his friends, (which probably would be difficult to attempt) Katara would help the others relax their grudges against me, and I would be donned a traitor to the Fire Nation, but a hero to the world when I helped defeat my father.

The decision was impossible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! Here's the next chapter of The Crossroads of Destiny! Zuko will finally make his choice. You have no idea how hard it is for me to do Azula- I'm a fairly nice person, and for me to think like her and be devious is kinda weird. Plus, I NEVER cuss, so that was a bit of an issue, too. Oh well! I think I did an okay job on her… Plus, I made Sokka all paranoid, like he is anyway…**

My head whirled violently. There were so many things that each possibility would give me. If I went with Azula, my honor would be restored. If I stayed here with Uncle, I could find my mother and forget my past. If I joined the Avatar, I could be donned a hero to the world.

Honor… mother… hero… honor… mother… hero… the words became a violent torrent of wails inside my head.

"Stop!" I screamed at them, and then I realized I had spoken out loud. I clutched the sides of my head and buried my fingers in my hair. I was slightly distracted by the thought that I could actually feel my fingers against my left eye now, but the moans echoed endlessly in my head, making it hard to focus on any one thing but them.

I suddenly became hyperaware of the sounds in the room- Aang trying to stop his awkward sobbing gasps, my ragged and hyperventilated breathing, and Katara's slow, deep breathing. I listened intently to her breathing, trying to force my breathing to keep the same pace. It worked. My breathing slowed, and I was able to think clearly again, though the wails still echoed faintly.

I, with some reluctance, dropped a possibility, knowing it would later come back and bite me in the behind, so to speak.

Two words repeated themselves inside my head, rebounding off the sides of my subconscious mind.

Hero… mother… hero… mother…hero… mother…

With more reluctance than before, I dropped another possibility, knowing I would have plenty of time once the war was over, assuming she had survived all these years.

My decision was made.

An earsplitting _boom _filled the cavern, ricocheting off the crystallized walls. Rock, dust and green emeralds flew everywhere, stinging my flesh where it hit. I covered my eyes hurriedly with my arms and ducked down.

I looked up, and the haze had cleared. An evil five-foot-six being stood there, the smirk of many years etched upon her face, one hand on her hip, flanked by two Dai Li. I saw the almost unrecognizable flash of surprise cross her face when she saw where my scar used to be.

"Zuzu, good for you- you don't look utterly stupid and dim-witted anymore!" she taunted, and I knew she was just trying to get me angry, trying to bait me.

"What do you want, Azula?" I asked her through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she sighed, her eyebrows quirked like always. She examined her nails and fingers with no real interest. She snapped her fingers suddenly, and out of nowhere, green crystals shot up around Uncle, digging into his flesh. Uncle struggled anxiously, biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain. My eyes flashed up to the Dai Li, and they were relaxing from their earthbending stances. "Just for you to join me." She said it with no real expectancy in her voice, eyeing the motionless meditating airbender and the unconscious waterbender. She knew I wasn't going to join her.

Her words meant absolutely nothing to me now- there was no sense of lure that struck me. I had already made my decision, and I was determined to stick with it. I glared at her evilly.

"Let him go!" I demanded, my voice echoing blankly around the cavern.

Azula rolled her eyes at me, and drawled lazily, "Oh, Zuzu, you always _were _the dramatic one."

Azula leaped suddenly into the air, twisted her body, and brought down two lashes of fire. They came directly above my head, and I swiped my arms through the air just in time for the fire to disintegrate from my block. She spun on her heel and kicked another electric blue blast towards me. I blocked this one, too, focusing on defense instead of offense. I darted in front of the two motionless bodies and risked a glance at them. Aang's eyes were glazed over and glassy as he stared at Katara's unmoving form.

I was brought back to my senses when a flash of blue darted just to my left. Azula smirked, and drawled, "I missed on purpose, Zuzu."

How I hated that stupid name! My anger fueled me, but I didn't want it to, strangely. I spun quickly, crossing my arms. I snapped them out, releasing a low arc of fire that would have hit Azula's knees, had she not leapt into the air.

A small column of earth rose out of the ground, and Azula landed carefully atop it. I stared up at her with as much hate and anger as I could, though it felt wrong. I punched my fists up simultaneously, creating a tiny comet of fire that hurtled towards Azula. She blocked it with ease, and began to send blast after blast rocketing toward me. I blocked as many as I could, but they never seemed to end. My back was turned for a split second, and I turned around, and a fire blast was only a foot away from my face, and I had no time to block it.

It was about to sear my face, to give me back that horrible pink and red scar, when a sudden volley of water disintegrated it, leaving the air hissing. I looked around, and I saw that Katara had come to her feet again, wincing and looking bleary, but nonetheless determined.

"Katara," I said with relief, and out of the corner of my eye, another blast was rocketing toward me. I blocked it quickly, and Katara sent a wave of water flying towards Azula. As soon as it hit her, Katara froze it, crystallizing her clothes and limbs. I knew it wouldn't hold Azula for long, seeing as she could melt it with her fire. The two Dai Li started to attack, but Katara disabled them as well.

Katara turned and began to anxiously shake Aang, seeing as his eyes were still glassy.

"Aang! Can you hear me? Please, Aang! Answer me!" she cried.

Aang remained motionless for a few seconds, then took a sharp intake of breath and shook his head, as if clearing it from a haze. He looked up at Katara with anxious eyes, and murmured, "What?"

Katara sighed and replied, "Aang, I need you to free someone from some rock. Quickly, please!"

She tugged him to his feet and directed him toward Uncle Iroh. He shook his head again, and then tensed into an unfamiliar pose. He did a series of gestures with his hands, and the crystal surrounding Uncle disappeared. Uncle rubbed his arms and belly, and then we took off. We darted back up the tunnel as fast as we could, Aang coming back to his senses along the way, seeing as he created rock walls at regular intervals in attempt to stall Azula and the Dai Li.

We ran for a long while, never stopping to rest, even though Uncle was wheezing slightly. Soon we met up with the warrior and an unfamiliar raven haired young girl. I noticed, by her eyes, that she was blind, and from the excessive dirt, she was an Earthbender. I didn't question her ability or state.

"Who's this?" she asked, referring to me.

"Yeah, why is he here? And where's his scar?" the warrior questioned, tensing up.

"Relax, guys. He's on our side," Aang said suddenly. I looked at him in astonishment, and he shrugged. I took that as an '_I'm sorry I blew up at you'_.

Katara continued, "Toph, this is the guy who has pretty much been chasing us all over the world ever since we found Aang."

"Then why is he here? Isn't he supposed to be chasing Twinkletoes?" the girl, Toph, said.

Katara fell into deep pondering, and the warrior and Toph turned to me, tensing up.

"Yeah, why _are _you here, Zuko?" the warrior snarled angrily.

"Um, well, I've changed," I stutter. "I mean, I'm not the person I was anymore. I've realized things, and that I should be helping you defeat my father, not please him. He's done a variety of terrible things that I can't even recount. I've noticed things about my family that I never have before, such as their dangerous persistence, and their evil drive to take over the world. I don't want that. I want to help the world, not destroy it. I know my destiny is to help you defeat my father and bring balance to the world."

Even I was amazed by the truth of my own words. They came out in a rush before I could stop them. Everyone looked to Toph for some reason, and she shrugged.

"Truth," she uttered simply.

They all relaxed considerably, and Uncle patted me on the back.

We heard a deep rumbling emanating from deep below the ground, and we all immediately took off, bolting as fast as we could towards somewhere. Aang took the lead, and soon we were back to the front of the Earth King's palace. Their huge flying bison rested lazily on the ground, and he stood up when he saw us, their lemur chittering. With a burst of air, Aang leaped up onto the bison's head, and everyone else scrambled up. I stood by the fluffy monster's feet and looked at Uncle.

"Uncle, what about you? Are you coming with us?"

He pondered for a second, then said, "No. I must stay here and run my teashop."

There was some sort of double meaning in his voice, but I couldn't sense what it was. I nodded and embraced him. "Goodbye, Uncle, and thank you."

I scrambled up onto the huge bison, and waved to my uncle as the creature set off with a groan. We soared high into the air, and I was rather uneasy, seeing how a few of my childhood memories unfortunately contributed to my fear of heights. We stopped only once, at my apartment, for me to change and gather my things.

Soon I was back on the bison, in clean clothes, with a bag slung over my shoulder and a dual broadsword sheath strapped onto me. We darted west, towards the Fire Nation, but I did not question their motives.

As we flew, I felt something inside me, and I knew I had made the right choice. I was with the right people, and I knew my destiny would soon be unraveled as I continued on with them. I laid on the bison's back, stomach up, so I faced the stars and sky. I clutched the bison's fur, inhaling the night air deeply. My hair whipped around in the breeze, clouding my vision every once in a while. A void in my chest suddenly filled, and in that instant, I felt at home. I barely knew these people, but for the first time in a very long time, I felt at _home_. It was something I hadn't felt since my mother disappeared. I still had questions about things, and no answers, but I knew that in due time, I would get them.

My choice had been sealed, and so had my fate.


End file.
